Scavenging for Books Beneath the Rubble in Daraa

22-Aug-2017

The sight of people sifting through rubble – searching for survivors of an attack or rummaging for belongings – is not uncommon in rebel-held parts of Daraa province. But in the southern Syrian town of Inkhel, roughly 34 miles (55km) north of Daraa city, a group of volunteers is scavenging for something else entirely.

Since the start of this year, teachers and volunteers have collected roughly 7,000 books from houses and libraries destroyed by Syrian government attacks in the rural town in Daraa. Rather than letting them wither away in moldy cellars or stuffy storage rooms, the rescued volumes are being used to stock the newly founded Ajyal Public Library.